Card Holders Friend, Fan and Follow Issuers

With an eye out for deals and promotions, a fourth of credit card holders in a recent survey said they have become a friend, fan or follower of their card issuer or brand.

The results were in a survey of 1,000 online Internet users age 18 and over conducted by SYNERGISTICS Research of Atlanta.

Facebook was the most heavily used channel, with more than 20% using that social network to connect. LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter were cited by about 5% of the responders each.

One-third of the respondents said they became a friend, follower or fan to “be aware of any special promotions or deals,” SYNERGISTICS Research said. One in six said it was to learn about other customers’ experience or because they wanted to share their experience with others.

Less than 10% of the cardholders used Facebook for customer service issues and fewer yet used other social networks for that purpose, the survey found.

“Card issuers should continue to expand their online strategies for customer outreach and brand exposure. In using social networks, issuers will need to respect the social nature of the media and focus outgoing messages on discount and promotional announcements and responses to customer inquiries,” said Genie M. Driskill, chief operation officer of SYNERGISTICS, a provider of multi-sponsor marketing research for the financial services industry.